


Second Star to the Right

by ConniptionCrazy



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Basically, Derek is a soldier, Derek is an alien, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, It's love at first crash landing, M/M, Shmoop, Stiles is an astronaut, actual wolves, all the aliens on this planet are werewolves, and cute, and sex, it's still in there, laura is a great best friend and sister, not too explicit though?, there is domesticity, trust me counter: 5, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-30
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-30 22:36:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1024209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConniptionCrazy/pseuds/ConniptionCrazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And straight on 'til morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Star to the Right

Stiles was so pumped for this. It was just a routine check of a supernova, but- oh, man, he was always pumped to go into space. Not that he went into space a lot. This was his first mission.

Welcome, travellers, to the year 2568. And this, friends, is Stiles’ _dream_ job. Well, almost. He’d wanted to be Superman when he was a kid, but this was as close as he was going to get. An astronaut wasn’t so bad, especially on exploratory missions. It was almost like something out of Star Trek, or Star Gate. Stiles liked all the old things- comic books you could actually hold, TV shows that were just in color and not holograms.

His dad said he was an old soul, was proud of him for it. Stiles took pride in it, too.

“You set to go, Stiles?”

Scott’s voice came on over his headset. Stiles grinned nervously.

“Everything’s green, Scott.” Scott had been his best friend for, oh, let’s see, _forever_? They’d grown up together.

“Are you sure? Everything?” Scott pressed.

Stiles sighed deeply. “Yes, Scott. Unless I’ve suddenly gone some kind of color blind, everything’s green. Except-”

“What?! What’s wro-”

“ _Nothing_ , Scott, I was messing with you. Start it all up, let’s get this show on the road.” Stiles was practically jumping in his seat.

“Jesus, Stiles.” Scott breathed. “Okay. This is your first mission, so they’re not giving you something big. Just go, make some observations, take some pictures, you’ll be fine. I’ll be in your ear the whole time.”

“Fantastic. Just what I wanted.” Stiles dripped sarcasm. He couldn’t help it when he was nervous. Scott could tell.

“You’re gonna do just fine.” Scott was clicking something on the control boards- Stiles could hear it. “Alright. Startup sequence completed. Blast off in fifteen seconds.”

“You’ve got my letter to my dad, right? Just in case?” Stiles blurted out.

“Yeah, I’ve got it, Stiles. And when you come back you can give it to him yourself.” Scott soothed. “Stupid. Ten. Nine.”

Stiles took a deep breath as Scott counted down in his ear. Okay. Okay. Cool it, self. This is gonna be _awesome_!

“Five. Four.”

Stiles shifted in his seat, the cabin shuddering around him.

“One.”

He barely felt take off. Just g-force, pushing him back into his seat, and then nothing at all. Ah, modern technology. Such a blessing. Now started the business part- actually piloting the shuttle to its destination. He’d be able to look at the stars and the wonders of space later, when that was part of his job. For now- he had to actually get there.

“How is it up there?” Scott asked at some point- Stiles was getting lost in the mechanics and in watching the stars go by despite himself.

“It’s great. Beautiful.” Stiles murmured. “Makes me feel really small, y’know? But in a good way. I never thought that it would be in a good way.”

Scott laughed.

“What? Is that what they all say?” Stiles asked grudgingly.

“Yeah, basically.” Scott had been doing this for longer than Stiles had, but not by much. He’d certainly gotten into his actual job faster. So yeah, he would probably know.

“Oh. Uh. I’m coming up on it.” Stiles blurted after a few more hours of travelling. “I think it’s starting to contract now-”

“Keep your distance, Stiles, you don’t want to get hit by the blast.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. Still a few miles outside the blast radius.” Stiles said, checking his instruments. “It looks pretty steady. I think I can get closer.”

“Be _careful_ , Stiles.” Scott stressed. The radio was starting to go a little funny. Must be in reaction to the _giant explosion_ happening right in front of him.

Stiles didn’t worry about it too much. He started an orbit, making oral observations. Scott had gone quiet. Stiles didn’t mind- it gave him more headspace to actually enjoy the sheer awesomeness that was a supernova. He started to take pictures from every angle he could manage.

When he looked up from his instruments next, it was because his tiny one-person shuttle was shaking. Violently, and quite suddenly. And he could see why- it had happened so, so fast- the supernova had become a black hole. Just like that.

And he was getting sucked in.

“Scott- Scott?!” But Scott was still silent. Stiles got nothing from the radio except static.

Stiles fought with his shuttle- it wanted to go into the black hole, and Stiles wanted it out. Only one of them was winning, and hint- it wasn’t Stiles.

There was no point in fighting, and black soon covered all of Stiles’ windows, the cabin rattling and rolling violently. Stiles clung to his chair and just held on, shutting his eyes and clenching his jaw. His headset flung off. His computer was screaming at him. And all he could think about was how quickly everything had gone to shit.

And then he wasn’t thinking anything at all.

-=-

_Laura, shit, be careful, he’s not one of us!_

_Aww, getting protective little brother?_

_You wish. Get out of the way, you’re doing it wrong._

_Doing it wrong? There’s a wrong way to clean a wound?_

_Really? A whole family of doctors and I’m still better at this than you? Shame on you, Laura. Shame on you._

_Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I wanna stay here until he wakes up. He’s kind of cute._

Stiles cracked open his eyes, wincing because even the light hurt. His whole body hurt. Hell, his _hair_ hurt. All he could see were some seriously thick forearms and an extremely handsome face. A face that looked extremely irritated and focused at the same time. What a weird combination.

There was gentle dabbing and firm wiping at his forehead. Someone was cleaning a cut. Probably Mr. Handsome-Face-Man. Stiles hissed at the stinging, wincing when Mr. Handsome-Face-Man got the cloth _right_ into his wound.

“He’s awake, Laura.” So that took care of one voice. A very deep, awesome voice, Stiles might add.

“Then get out of the way!” Laura, obviously, because this was a girl’s voice. Well. Woman.

She shoved Mr. Handsome-Face-Man out of the way (her brother? Boyfriend? Husband? Stiles had thought he’d heard something about brother. He was going to go with that.) and leaned over Stiles. Her long brown hair didn’t match her brother’s(?), whose hair was black. But they had the same blue-grey eyes. Hers were just less serious-looking.

“Well hey there!” She chirped. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”

“Murphgh.” Was Stiles’ intelligent reply. She was just as beautiful as her brother(??) was handsome.

“You’re not going to throw up, are you?” Laura asked, immediately concerned.

Stiles shook his head. Which turned out to be a bad idea, because it sent everything swimming.

“Good.” She certainly brightened quickly. “I’m Laura, and that-” She gestured to somewhere Stiles couldn’t see. “Is my brother, Derek.” She introduced. “Your name is...?”

“People call me Stiles.” He answered automatically. “Where am I, exactly?” He grunted, trying to sit up. Laura forced him back down with surprising strength. Stiles’ heart started to beat faster.

“Laura, stop _touching_ him.” Derek hissed, batting his sister out of the way so he could get at the cuts and scrapes on Stiles’ arms.

“ _You’re_ touching him.” She accused.

“Because he’s hurt. You just make it worse.” Derek mumbled the last part under his breath, but Stiles heard it and grinned. He couldn’t help it.

“I do not!” She looked appalled.

“Okay, architects who know nothing about medicine to _that_ side of the room.” Derek turned and looked pointedly at the door.

Stiles was fighting a chuckle. It was sort of really painful.

Laura sniffed, like she’d been hurt, though Stiles had heard Lydia make that sound enough to know that she was just trying to manipulate Derek into letting her stay. Derek was not fooled, evidently, because Stiles heard Laura walk across the room and shut the door.

Derek made a sound that Stiles took to mean _good riddance_ and continued working on Stiles’ cuts. Which didn’t actually hurt anymore, which was weird.

“Where am I, though? Nobody answered me.” Stiles pointed out. “Not that I’m not grateful that you’re, uh, fixing me up or anything! Because I am. I just- Would like to know _where_ I’m being fixed up. Unless this is some kind of hospital?”

Derek rolled his eyes. “You’re at my family’s estate.” He said shortly. “You’re safe.” Stiles mulled this over.

“Okay, but, _where_? Because the last thing I remember, I was sucked into a black hole. That wasn’t some weird dream, right, that actually happened?” Stiles asked, kind of panicking.

Derek sighed deeply, as if the world was on his shoulders and Stiles was just another problem added to the top. Stiles didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

“You were sucked into a black hole. Another one spit you out, on _this_ side of the galaxy.” Derek explained, examining one of Stiles’ legs now. “I don’t know a lot about it- I was never interested in space. But from what I understand, you stumbled upon some kind of wormhole. Your ship crashed here.” Derek wasn’t looking at Stiles as he explained all of this. “And by here, I mean in my backyard. Thanks for that.” He sounded like he was being facetious.

“So... I’m on another planet? Not Earth?” Derek looked up.

“You’re from Earth?” He seemed extremely interested.

“Uh. Yeah.” Stiles nodded, and regretted it again.

Derek seemed to be sizing him up. “Yeah, you’re on another planet.”

“You know about Earth? Wait- oh my god. That would make you an alien. I thought you were supposed to be green, and small.” Stiles blinked.

Derek rolled his eyes. “To me, you’re an alien, too.” He pointed out. “Yes, we’ve known about Earth for some time. Our planet is... Much more advanced than yours.” Derek seemed to be sharing a private joke with the rest of his whole planet, judging by the curl of his lips. Stiles didn’t like it.

“Oh _really_?” Stiles asked slowly, suspiciously.

“You still think E equals M-C squared.” Derek said simply.

Stiles blinked. He couldn’t think of anything to really say to that.

-=-

It was a long time before Derek would let Stiles get out of bed. Not until the light coming through the window was orange and evening-like. Only then did he give Stiles the go-ahead to try standing up, and he was watching Stiles like a hawk for any signs of falling back down. Stiles did his best to ignore it.

“Food. Can food be a thing?” Stiles asked hopefully. “Provided, uh, I can eat the kinds of food you eat.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Our planet is very like Earth. Most anything you find in my fridge, you could probably eat.”

“So you even call them fridges. And this is English. We’re speaking English. Holy shit.” This was a fact that was continually hitting Stiles as a novel thing. Derek just looked at him like he was crazier than he let on.

“Our experts think that our planets are twins, or mostly twins, from the life to the inventions to the languages. There’s a whole theory on it that I really don’t feel like explaining right now.” Derek shook his head. “Come on.”

He lead Stiles out of the room and down the stairs, where Stiles was greeted with maybe three dozen people of varying ages. That made him stop, despite Derek’s insistent hand at his elbow. Laura emerged from the crowd, making the scowl on Derek’s face deepen.

“You could have told me everyone was coming.” Derek hissed.

“Or I could let you find out for yourself, which is way more amusing.” Laura grinned, winking cheekily. “Stiles, the rest of the Hale Pack. Hales, this is Stiles.” She called out louder.

Stiles was promptly bombarded with greetings of different degrees of enthusiasm and interest before everyone went back to talking or staring at him or both.

“Come _on_.” Derek growled, pulling Stiles into the kitchen.

“Okay, so that was kind of mind-blowing.” Stiles said dazedly. “So that was your, uh, your family? All of them?”

“Most of them.” Derek corrected, forcing Stiles to sit down at the huge table before he looked through the fridge. “Some of them are in-laws. Some of them are close enough that they might as well be Pack. But yeah, mostly, they’re all Hales.”

“So where do you fit in?” Stiles had about a million questions, and this was just the beginning of them.

“I’m a part of the main family.” Derek answered absently. “My parents, my grandparents, and my uncle and his wife. Everyone else comes from a branch family.”

“And they’re all doctors?”

“My parents are, my grandparents were, and my siblings, except for Laura and I, are studying to be. The rest are all military. Except for Peter. I don’t really know what he is.” Derek paused in whatever it was he was doing to contemplate that before shaking his head at himself and continuing on.

“So what are you studying to be? Laura’s an architect, right?”

Derek nodded, and then shrugged. Like these were actual answers.

“What did that even mean?” Stiles scrunched up his nose.

“Give up, kid. Derek-ese is only Derek-ese. Nobody can read it.” Laura came into the kitchen practically bouncing. “There are reporters outside.” She said to Derek excitedly.

“When aren’t there reporters outside?” Derek didn’t look up.

“I’ll give you that one, but they all want to see Stiles.” Laura bumped Derek with her hip.

Which produced a very, very animalistic growl from Derek. Enough that Stiles looked around for the dog they owned, only to find the room distinctly lacking a dog. Figuring that this was an alien thing, Stiles was way more curious than he should have been. He should have been afraid.

“Well, they can’t.” Derek completed his sentence, it seemed, at a nonverbal prompting from Laura. “He’s an invalid.”

“I’m up and walking around.” Stiles piped up, somewhat excited at the prospect of having fifteen minutes of fame _on another planet_.

“Shut up.” Derek growled over his shoulder.

“I don’t get a say?” Stiles pouted.

Derek glared so hard Stiles felt it in his _soul_. He deserved a medal for not flinching. By the way Laura was looking at him like he had just done something very right made him feel like she agreed. Apparently, standing up to the grump that was Derek was a good idea, despite how much it looked like Derek was going to tear Stiles’ throat out. With his teeth.

Derek wouldn’t answer anything else Laura or Stiles said until he’d put down a huge plate of food in front of Stiles. Stiles’ jaw dropped- he didn’t know if he could eat two sandwiches, a giant helping of salad, and an even bigger helping of potato chips- but he could damn well _try_.

Stiles made it through the sandwiches and half the salad before he had to stop. Five potato chips didn’t count as even putting a dent in that shit. He groaned and looked at Derek with half-lidded, sleepy eyes.

“That was really, really good.” He moaned, feeling a food coma coming on hardcore.

Derek just nodded stiffly, watching the doorway behind Stiles. It seemed like even though none of the Hales had come in except for Laura, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Derek took Stiles’ plate and dragged it to himself, eating what was left like that was a normal thing to do (and maybe it was, who was Stiles to judge here?). Just after he finished, a woman walked into the room.

She had to be someone important, because Derek stood up, back ramrod straight, his face serious but with a touch of affection around his eyes. Stiles knew the look- it was the look Scott gave his mom all the time. Oh shit, maybe the woman was Derek’s _mom_. Should Stiles stand up too? He chewed his lip nervously and was just about to get up when he heard her laugh. It was an easy, free sound.

“Sit down, Derek. We’re not at the office. You can calm down.” She came around to where Stiles could see her properly, rather than looking over his shoulder at her, and she smiled at him. “So you’re Stiles? I’m Talia Hale, Derek’s mother.” She didn’t hold out her hand.

“Um. Nice to meet you.” Stiles felt like shrinking in his seat or getting up and hugging her- she had a warm smile but an intimidating energy. It was weird.

Talia seemed amused. “I’ve been doing my best to keep the reporters and the more… Curious… of our family at bay, but I can’t promise I’ll be able to do so forever.”

“Hey, um, will I ever be able to go back? To Earth?” Not that he wanted to leave so soon or anything, but it was a question that had come up to Stiles.

“We’re working on that.” Talia soothed. “But it will be a while before your… _ship_ can be repaired. It might never be. In which case- in which case we will provide you with a new one.” She soothed, holding up a hand to hold off Stiles saying anything, as he’d opened his mouth.

Derek was watching the exchange silently, and Talia and he seemed to have a silent conversation entirely through gazes before Derek looked away, at the floor, and Talia ruffled Stiles’ hair before leaving.

“What was that all about?” Stiles asked Derek, perky and eager.

“Nothing.”

“That wasn’t nothing.”

“It _was_ nothing.” Derek insisted. “Come on. Back upstairs.”

“ _What?_ ” Stiles whined. He didn’t _want_ to go back upstairs; he wanted to learn about this new planet and its people and Derek.

“I didn’t stutter. Let’s go.” Derek took his arm, as if Stiles was even thinking about not following him.

Derek herded him passed the crowd of people, up the stairs. Stiles looked over his shoulder to see Derek pause at the top of the stairs and growl at Laura, who had been trying to follow them. Like, yeah, another actual growl. Laura seemed to sense that Derek was serious this time because she backed off.

“What, are you trying to keep me all to yourself?” Stiles asked, joking.

“Something like that.” Derek muttered. “Go. The sun’s nearly set, it’s almost time.” He kept nudging Stiles (not that Stiles was actually complaining- Derek was hot and Stiles would have thrown himself off a skyscraper rather than run away from touching that) and Stiles went.

“What does that mean? Something going to go down?” Stiles asked, opening the door to the room he’d woken up in and going back to the bed, sitting down on it.

“It’s the full moon.” Derek was looking at him like he was stupid.

“And…?” Stiles made a motion like _keep explaining_.

“And there are pups in the house who can’t control themselves?” Derek was being sarcastic, but in a _hello, Captain Obvious_ way.

“Pups? Like, dog pups? Or since it’s the full moon, werewolf pups?”

Derek kept giving Stiles the _oh my god you’re actually an idiot_ look, and hey, look, Stiles was learning how to read Derek-ese!

“Wait. Is this a planet full of werewolves?” Stiles couldn’t help the excitement and nervousness that flip-flopped in his stomach at the same time.

“Earth isn’t?” Derek started to look a little intrigued, and severely weirded-out.

“Dude, where I come from, werewolves are a myth.” Stiles shook his head. “I mean, lycanthropy is a disease, but it’s a mental one, where people only think they’re werewolves but they don’t actually transform or anything, you know?” Stiles paused only for a breath, and even then just barely. “So, come on, prove it to me. If you’re just pulling my leg, I’ll never forgive you- you have no idea how excited I am right now. Or maybe you do know- can you smell excitement?”

Now Derek was looking exhausted, like he regretted ever saying anything at all. “No, Stiles. I’m not showing you anything. It’s dangerous this close to the full moon.”

“Of course it is.” Stiles needled. “And you can’t actually shift, can you?”

And then Derek’s face did a thing.

“Oh. So I guess you can shift.”

-=-

The moonlight was strong in this room, which Stiles was starting to suspect belonged to Derek. It was spacious, but dark. The wood paneling on the walls was dark, the curtains were a deep, soft grey, and the rug on the otherwise hardwood floor was the same grey with swirls of red. The sheets on the bed were white, but the comforter was black. And everything had the same scent; woods and coffee and cinnamon.

Stiles couldn’t sleep. There it was. There hadn’t been any weird sounds or anything, and the moonlight wasn’t actually in his face, but he couldn’t get comfortable. Maybe the bed was too big or something. So he got up and started to explore the room in the dark, without actually snooping through Derek’s wardrobe or whatever.

There was a bookshelf on the wall next to the door. It had cubed sections rather than shelves, and in some there were books and in some there were other knicknacks. They were of the sort that looking at them, to Stiles they were nothing, but to Derek they probably were really important mementos. Stiles only touched the ones that looked like they were safe to touch.

There was a glass jar with colored sand. A dish of marbles. Some smooth, clay-colored river rocks in different sizes. A bright blue bird feather.

Stiles was interrupted from his exploration by a sound just outside the door. He cautiously backed up to the bed, crawling back onto it. He wasn’t sure what the sound was, but he couldn’t protect himself if he had to. Derek had said it would be dangerous- what if one of the ‘pups’ was looking for a chew toy?

There was some scrabbling and thumping, like something was throwing itself against the door. Stiles jumped and considered hiding under the covers, as if that might save him. The handle moved, and the door swung open. There was a dark shape, hunched close to the ground. As it walked towards him, Stiles could identify the sound he’d heard before that had chased him back to the bed- nails on wood. As the dark shape hit the carpet, it became silent. And it was coming closer.

When it looked up at Stiles, its eyes were a bright blue. The same bright blue that Derek’s eyes had been when his face had shifted to something half-human half-beast. The shape was a wolf. A midnight black wolf.

“Derek?” Stiles whispered.

The wolf licked its lips and put its front paws up on the bed, seeming to judge how much strength it would take before jumping up beside Stiles. The wolf nudged at him, at his shoulders and chest. Stiles was petrified, still not sure if he was going to be eaten or not.

The wolf seemed to snort, giving a whole body shake. The look in its eyes screamed that Stiles was the biggest idiot to ever stupid. Yeah. It was Derek. The cold nose nudged at him again, and Stiles hesitantly laid down, unsure if that was what Derek wanted.

Derek sighed softly, seemingly in contentment, and licked Stiles’ cheek and throat. Stiles stayed completely still, hesitantly baring his throat to him. This seemed to be the right thing to do, because Derek pressed his muzzle to Stiles’ jugular. He didn’t even open his mouth, for which Stiles was grateful, but the gesture was accepted and that was what mattered. Derek licked Stiles’ cheek one more time before laying down beside him.

Maybe beside him was too kind a term. Derek was _half on top_ _of_ Stiles. His belly was on Stiles’ arm, his two long and powerful front legs across Stiles’ chest and ribs, spread just enough so that Derek could put his head down between them, again, on top of Stiles. He was curled almost elegantly around Stiles, his tail laying across Stiles’ thighs, and Stiles could feel the paws of his hind feet digging firmly into his hip. Derek let out a final sigh, settling and utterly relaxing, but Stiles was too tense to do the same.

“Derek, I don’t know if I can sleep with you on top of me like that.” Stiles whispered. “It’s kind of hard to breathe.”

Derek didn’t even look at him. Dick. He was watching the door instead, unblinking.

“Are you protecting me or something?” Stiles mumbled. Derek still didn’t respond. And it didn’t seem like he would be moving, or letting Stiles move, any time soon.

So Stiles took as deep a breath he could with half a wolf on top of him and closed his eyes, practicing tensing and relaxing different parts of his body one at a time, from his toes to his head, going so far as to scrunch up his face as hard as he could before relaxing completely. It helped, and Stiles started to doze, sprawled out underneath Derek.

At some point, maybe hours or minutes later, there was the sound of nails on wood again. Stiles cracked open an eye only when the warmth of Derek’s head left him.

Derek had lifted his head from Stiles’ chest, ears at attention, his eyes still on the doorway. Stiles turned his head to see another wolf standing there, slightly smaller than Derek. It looked like it might be brown in color. Its eyes were tawny gold. It came forward, stepping only one paw in the room.

Derek let out a low warning growl, ears flattening and pointing backwards. Stiles could feel it in his chest.

The other wolf disappeared, and Derek stopped growling, ears going to attention again. He waited a beat more and then laid his head back on Stiles’ chest. Stiles felt warm and protected with Derek so alert and focused, and when he dozed off this time, it was into deeper, real sleep.

-=-

In the morning, Stiles awoke to soft sunlight coming through the cracks in the curtains, which had apparently been drawn at some point before Stiles got up. The bed was cold, and empty. Stiles tried not to be put out. He stretched, body aching and protesting all the way, before actually getting out of bed. Being dressed in only boxers and an undershirt, Stiles hunted for the clothes from the previous day. They seemed to have magically disappeared.

Stiles eyed the dresser. He didn’t want to borrow anything without asking, but there was no way he was going downstairs if all those people were still here. He pulled open the drawers, at last finding a pair of sweatpants that looked like they would fit. Stiles put them on, almost moaning- these were the softest pants _ever_.

When Stiles had gotten over this, he hesitantly made his way out of the room and down the stairs. What he saw made him drool. Laura was at the breakfast table, looking tired but satisfied as she ate a bowl of cereal. And Derek- Derek was doing pushups in the living room.

_Shirtless._

Laura seemed to notice him first, smiling and winking at him.

“You can have cereal now or wait until Derek’s done and he’ll make pancakes.” She waved her spoon as she talked.

“Ngh- I never- hh- agreed to anything like that.” Derek huffed, pausing to catch his breath- except he was still close to the ground with his arms bent and holy shit _how_.

“You did now, baby brother.” Laura teased, smirking.

“No, ah- it’s okay. If you show me where the stuff is, I can do it.” Stiles found his voice, rubbing the back of his neck. “Gotta earn my keep somehow, right?”

Laura looked like she might kiss him. “Pancake mix is in the cabinet, bacon’s in the freezer, eggs are in the fridge. I’ll get the pans.”

So, with Derek working out in relative silence behind them, Laura and Stiles went about the kitchen and made enough food for an army. Neither of them really noticed when Derek got up and left to shower, too busy flinging batter at each other. By the time Derek reappeared and dressed, breakfast was done and being served up. Laura dished up most of it for herself and Derek- apparently, werewolf metabolisms worked damn fast.

Derek sat down and started to eat without preamble. Stiles couldn’t help but watch him, nervous. He’d made it all the way he usually did, and Laura hadn’t freaked out about any of it, but maybe she hadn’t been paying as close attention as Stiles was hoping she had been? Derek didn’t say anything or complain, just kept (excuse the pun) wolfing it down. Stiles looked to Laura for some kind of confirmation, but she only smiled and kept eating as well. Stiles tried to quash the nervousness, digging into his own food. It tasted alright to him. All he could do was cross his fingers and hope.

Derek was done with his whole plate before Stiles was done with half of his. He looked up at Stiles and Laura.

“Is there any more?” He asked.

“You want seconds?” Stiles couldn’t help the surprise in his voice.

Derek didn’t seem to care, merely nodding.

“No, there isn’t any more, but- I guess, if I cook again, I’ll make sure there is?” Stiles couldn’t hide his wide grin.

Derek nodded like it was settled before getting up to take care of the dishes. Stiles felt pleasantly warm. Derek liked his cooking. _Derek liked his cooking._ Laura was laughing to herself, probably at them, but Stiles didn’t, _couldn’t_ care. Derek didn’t hate him, and that was probably some kind of miracle.

“Well, I’ve got class. Don’t wait up for me.” Laura finger-waved at them, grabbed a bag by the door, and was gone.

“So- do you go to class too, or have some kind of job?” Stiles asked Derek curiously.

“I work.” Stiles waited, and when it didn’t look like Derek was going to elaborate, prompted him.

“As what? That’s not really specific, you know. Like, at all.”

“I’m in the military. On our planet, sevice is mandatory for a minimum of two years.” Derek explained. “But depending on certain things, you can get roped in for more service.”

“So how long are you in for?” Stiles paused. “When I say it like that, it sounds like a prison sentence. I didn’t mean it like that, just so you know.” He amended.

“I know. I’m in for ten years.” Derek seemed a little amused. “By choice.”

“School not your thing? Nothing else appealed to you?” Stiles pressed.

“No.” Derek shook his head.

Stiles let the amicable silence hang for a while, thinking.

“So what’re you doing here? I mean, are you off-duty or something?”

“I just got back from deployment. I’ve got three months vacation, and then I’m probably going to be sent somewhere else.” Derek started on drying the dishes.

“What’s on the agenda for the day, then? What do you do around here for fun?” Stiles didn’t know how much more of being cooped up he could stand.

“I can show you around the property. Don’t need you getting lost out here. And it might be a good idea to get you some clothes while you’re here.” Okay, so Derek had noticed that, too.

“That’ll probably happen anyway. The getting lost part.” Stiles warned. Derek glared at him. “What? I’m sort of accident-prone. Stuff just happens to me, okay?”

“I’m beginning to realize that.” Derek sighed.

“Is, uh, is your family still here?” Stiles asked, nerves returning in force.

“Just Laura. Everyone else went home last night.”

“She lives here with you?” The house was huge, even two people would have problems filling it all. At least, they would in Stiles’ mind.

“I like to be alone.” Derek answered. Stiles felt a little guilty.

“I kind of ruined that, huh?” He shifted. “Sorry.”

Derek shrugged. Stiles wasn’t sure what to say now, eyes darting around the kitchen for lack of anything else to do. His courage was quick to return, easily pushing his embarrassment to the side.

“Tell me more about werewolves.” Stiles asked. More like demanded.

“What do you want to know?” Derek growled, as if he was hesitant to actually engage in this conversation.

“Well, stuff like, I don’t know, you have powers, right? Like super strength. And I was serious before,- can you smell emotions and stuff?”

“Yes, we can smell emotion. I can hear your heartbeat, too.”

Of course, then Stiles’ heart kicked up a faster rhythm. Derek smirked at him and Stiles didn’t know whether to scowl or not. Bastard.

“You did that on purpose.” Stiles accused. “To freak me out.”

“It’s the truth.” Derek shrugged.

“Are there any humans here?” Stiles asked, trying to change the subject. “Like on Earth, does anyone think they’re human?”

“There are people who can’t transform.” Derek nodded. “They don’t have any ‘powers’, if you’re calling it that. They can’t heal. So I guess you’d call them human. The condition is pretty rare.” Derek trailed off.

Stiles was shocked.

“Don’t strain yourself.” Stiles managed. “I think that’s the most you’ve said since I got here.”

Derek scowled.

“Come on. Tour.” The wolf said at last, leaving the room, obviously expecting Stiles to follow.

Which Stiles did, eager to see the rest of the house and land around it. It looked, from what Stiles could see outside the windows, like the woods around the property went forever. Derek showed him the bathroom nearest to his room first, which Stiles used gratefully because _fuck_ did he need one.

Derek continued to show him around the house, the different bedrooms and other livingrooms, because believe it or not, there was a shitton. Derek even had a game room, which included a pool table, a giant TV, and some sort of gaming console. Stiles was in awe. And just when he was starting to think that Derek’s estate was endless, they ended up back in the kitchen.

“You have the biggest house. Ever. _Ever_.” Stiles was thrilled.

Derek looked unsure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

“It’s a good thing, I swear it’s a good thing.” Stiles beamed.

Derek shook his head. “You can borrow some of my clothes while we’re shopping.” He said, rather than responding.

“About that- thanks.” Stiles flushed. “If the people here are anything like the ones on Earth, you’re the only thing standing between me and some government scientists with big needles. That’s really not how I want to spend my life, so, thanks.” He smiled at Derek, running a hand nervously through his hair.

“You’re welcome.” Derek said haltingly, as if he wasn’t used to saying them at all.

“I’ll, uh, be right back.” Stiles did not run up the stairs, he did not. This wasn’t an escape. It was a tactical retreat.

Eventually, they managed to get their acts together long enough to go shopping. Derek had on a leather jacket and Stiles just knew that it was going to give him a boner, because how was it possibly fair that a person’s hotness could increase 500% just by putting on a freaking jacket?! Stiles wished he had that sort of skill.

Derek led him out to a sleek black car that almost made Stiles drool.

“I hate you, oh my god, your car is beautiful.” Stiles groaned.

Derek smirked. “Thanks.”

Stiles couldn’t help but listen to the music on the radio as they drove, amazed at the new sounds and the new sights outside the window. The trees were all of a kind that Stiltes had never seen before. The hills were unlike any that Stiles had ever seen. It was all very like Earth and nothing like Earth at all. Stiles felt suddenly and sharply homesick. Torn. This place was beautiful and interesting and utterly alien. Stiltes wanted to stay, but then he would think of his father, or of Scott. He couldn’t stay.

Trying not to let on how much his mood had sobered, Stiles glanced over at Derek. THe wolf was watching him, and when they caught eyes, Derek didn’t seem concerned about getting caught.

“You’ll crash us if you keep staring.” Stiles broke the silence.

“I couldn’t crash us if I tried. The car won’t go outside of the lane.” Derek looked forward all the same. “I just control how fast and what direction.”

Stiles tried really hard not to find that as cool as he did. He at least succeeded in not fanboying about it and asking a zillion questions.

“Why the creepin’, anyway?” He asked instead.

“I’ve just never seen someone so excited about this place. Most people can’t wait to get out.” Derek murmured, as if to himself.

“Oh.” Stiles was taken off guard by the answer.

They didn’t talk again until they were getting out of the car Stiles groaned as he got out, his muscles screaming in protest.

“Please tell me they sell pain medication here.” He asked, coming around the car to join Derek. He sucked in a few breaths through his teeth, refusing to succumb to the pain and to let it win.

“Werewolves don’t feel pain, not for long. We don’t have any pain medication except for those rare people I told you about.” Derek was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

“That makes sense.” Stiles reluctantly agreed.

“Can you wait until we get back? I’ll try something that might work, but we can’t try it here.”

“Okay…?” Stiles said slowly. “I’ll be alright, I mean, I’m not a baby or anything.” He grinned. “Astronaut, remember?”

Derek snorted and rolled his eyes. He listened to Stiles rattle on about how hard it was to get to be an astronaut but how interestingly easy it was after as they meandered through the store. It seemed like a Walmart to Stiles. They were getting strange looks from people they passed, which were mostly directed at Stiles. It took a moment for him to realize that he was probably getting strange looks because they could scent that Stiles wasn’t like them, no matter how much his clothes smelled like Derek.

Stiles couldn’t help but be continually surprised- there wasn’t any sort of privacy. they would all hear his heart skyrocket when he got to thinking just a bit too much.

“Calm down, Stiles, you’re freaking yourself out.” Derek interrupted his train of thought.

“Sorry, just, having an inappropriate meltdown is all.” Stiles laughed nervously.

Derek’s hand went to the back of Stiles’ neck, squeezing.

“I’ve got you. Nobody is going to jump you or anything” Derek hushed.

Stiles did his best to just keep breathing. Derek did nothing to drag out their stay in the store, taking Stiles right to the clothing section and after getting Stiles’ size, they tossed a bunch of random clothes that Stiles gave a vague nod of approval to. In less than half an hour, they were out, but it was the longest half hour of Stiles’ life. The woman at the check out openly stared at him, enough that Stiles tried to hide behind Derek. Usually he liked being the center of attention, but not this time.

“Why were they all just staring?” Stiles hissed when they were outside and loading their purchases into the car.

“My family’s really well-known. Appearing in public with someone who has no powers, someone who obviously isn’t from around here- we’re making waves.” Derek snorted.

“Great. How worried should we be?” Stiles really meant ‘how worried should _I_ be?’, but Derek didn’t call him out on it.

“Not worried. I’ve dealt with paparazzi before. If you’re scared.”

“Why, Derek, it sounds like you’re teasing me.” Stiles said, jittery as he got in the car.

“Stiles. You’re not going to end up in a lab somewhere.” Derek said firmly, almost forcefully. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Stiles stared at Derek, lips parted. He hadn’t been expecting words like that from a guy like Derek.

“Okay.” And he believed him.

-=-

Derek said he might be here longer than a week, because the technology in his ship was so primitive compared to that of Derek’s planet, they had to go back in time practically in order to fix it. Stiles almost found it funny. Almost. But because of this likely delay, Derek gave Stiles his own room so he wouldn’t have to sleep in Derek’s bed again. Stiles was starting to wonder exactly how grateful he actually was for that.

But he thanked Derek all the same, changing into a pair of his own jeans and a plaid shirt. It felt good to be dressed in clothes that actually fit, even if they didn’t smell like Derek. They hadn’t bought any shoes because Stiles insisted, but he was starting to regret that. He was left with bulky, used-to-be-white-but-now-more-like-brown NASA issue astronaut boots.

Stiles gave himself a mental shrug when he stood in front of the mirror. He didn’t look too bad. He went downstairs where Derek was waiting for him.

“You gonna show me the rest of the place?” Stiles asked, thumbing over his shoulder at the view of the surrounding woods outside the kitchen window.

Derek nodded, hands in his pockets. He came to stand right in front of Stiles.

“That thing I wanted to try.” He explained, taking a hand out of his pocket.

He rested his fingertips on Stiles’ cheekbone. Stiles didn’t really understand until he saw Derek’s veins go black and the pain started to fade away. He let out a breath of air he hadn’t been aware he was holding. Derek’s fingertips were warm and light on his face, and he had such a look of concentration- Stiles couldn’t look away. The ache in his muscles and joints eased and disappeared. Derek took his hand back. The spell broke, and Stiles shook his head, trying to figure out what just happened.

“You good?”

“I- uh, yeah. Yeah, thanks.” Stiles grinned.

Derek jerked his head for Stiles to follow outside the side door. He led Stiles to a trail in the woods, a thin little track. They walked in silence, sometimes bumping shoulders, sometimes with Stiles following behind.

The forest was alive with sounds that were simultaneously familiar and strange. The plants all looked like the sort Stiles was used to, but it was the same thing- when he looked closer, the patterns of a fern’s leaves weren’t like anything Stiles had ever seen. The bark on the trees was different. Stiles was fascinated and overwhelmed.

“This track goes all around the house- if you follow it in either direction, it’ll come out on either side of the house.” Derek broke through his train of thought. “We’re coming out on the lake.”

Stiles was sure they had to be really far from the house- surely there would be frogs or some alien amphibians- and yet he hadn't heard any of that from the house. The lake was huge.

“Holy shit. And this is really all yours?” Stiles asked, amazed as he looked over the stretch of blue, sparkling water.

“Yeah.” Derek was smirking a little.

“ _Awesome_.” Stiles breathed, sitting down on a rock.

Derek stood beside him, looking out over the water with him. Stiles was finding it really easy to be quiet around Derek. Probably because of the blessing of growing out of his ADD a bit since he was a kid. He was pretty sure it had something to do with Derek himself, too.

“The more I look around at this place- it’s a lot like Earth, but when I look harder, it’s all just slightly different. I don’t know whether to be homesick or not.” Stiles laughed.

Derek looked faintly amused.

“What’s Earth like?” Derek asked, glancing at Stiles before looking back out on the lake.

“Like this. Basically.” Stiles shrugged. “I mean, less militarized. People are more ignorant, but even that might be the same, I don’t know. People don’t seem to have such large families, for the most part.” Stiles hoped he wasn’t picking something boring to talk about.

“What about your family?” Derek seemed more interested than Stiles had really been expecting. Then again, Derek wasn’t the only alien here.

“I have a dad, I come from this little town called Beacon Hills, and my dad, he’s the sheriff there. Super proud of his job.” Stiles smiled a little.

“No mother? Or siblings?” Derek didn’t look like he could comprehend that.

“My mom died when I was ten. She got cancer.” Stiles swallowed. He’d be okay, but he wasn’t used to talking about this.

“Cancer?” Derek looked confused.

“It’s a disease that humans can get sometimes, a sickness. Its not contagious or anything, but it’ll kill you if you don’t realize you have it in time, or if it’s too dangerous to treat.” Stiles fiddled with his own fingers as he spoke. “It used to be even worse, people died from all kinds of cancer all the time. We can treat it better than ever, but we can’t cure it yet.” Stiles sighed. “Cancer can show up in anybody, and according to the doctors, anything and everything under the sun and including the sun will give it to you.” Stiles shook his head.

“Anyway, we didn’t catch it in time. It was too far along. All we could really do was make her comfortable and wait.”

Derek had sobered. “That… I’m sorry.”

Stiles smiled. “It’s fine.”

They were quiet for a while.

“Anyway. Uh, I’ve got a friend at home who’s really like my brother. Scott. He’s the one who got me out into space in the first place.” Stiles continued awkwardly. “I’ve got a few other friends, too. Allison, Scott’s girlfriend. Lydia and Jackson.”

“You… don’t have a girlfriend?” Derek asked haltingly.

Stiles almost laughed. Almost.

“No. I mean, I’ve dated a few people, here and there. They, uh, they never last long. I must have one of those faces, I guess. Too awesome to handle.”

Derek’s brow furrowed, his lips turning down in a frown, but he didn’t say anything.

“What about you, then? No risky sexcapades?” Stiles asked, immediately regretting it. He was starting to have a thing for Derek, and besides that needing to be pushed away ASAP, Stiles already heard enough from Scott.

Derek only shrugged, looking down at the sand under his feet.

“There was a girl.” He said at last. “I wasn’t as important to her as she was to me.”

Stiles let the silence hang for a moment.

“What a bitch.”

Derek cracked an unexpected smile. “You have no idea.”

Stiles laughed, and he thought he recognized an answering one from Derek, too, but he couldn’t be sure. the quiet settled again, until Derek turned away.

“Come on. Let’s go back. Lunch.”

Stiles offered no protest, jumping up and brushing his hands off on his jeans. The walk back to the Hale estate was probably the same length as the walk to the lake, but it felt shorter. Lighter. More awesome. Stiles tried not to skip, but it was a near thing.

When they got back, Laura was already there and cooking.

“Hope you like macaroni and cheese with hotdogs!” She called over her shoulder.

“We’re right here, Laura, you don’t have to yell.” Derek muttered crossly, closing the door behind himself and Stiles.

Stiles did not squeal.

Okay, maybe a little.

He didn’t see the amused glance Derek sent him as he stomped up the stairs to deposit his shoes in the room Derek had given him.

“You _like_ him.” Laura accused. At least she had the courtesy to keep it quiet.

“I do not.” Derek lied without thinking. He flushed, the smirk on Laura’s face telling him she had indeed caught the lie.

“Do. Too.” Laura stirred the macaroni in the pot.

“Maybe a little.” Derek admitted in a mutter. He couldn’t hide anything from Laura and it sucked.

Thankfully, Stiles came running loudly back down the stairs, giving Derek just enough time to school his expression into a scowl. Laura didn’t bother hiding her almost devilish glee. Stiles looked confused, but he didn’t question anything.

The days passed, each one remarkably similar to the last and also exceedingly different. Derek would get up some time before Stiles, get him up at ten. Sometimes Laura would be there, sometimes she wouldn’t be. They’d have breakfast. Derek would then spend most of the day teaching Stiles about this world. They would watch movies, or listen to music. Stiles couldn’t get enough, and Derek never seemed impatient or bored with him.

In this way, a whole month passed. Derek was in the kitchen making dinner (stew? soup? Stiles couldn’t tell) while Stiles and Laura played a weird version of Twister that didn’t actually involve a spinner- the mat called out the moves to be made.

“So- Stiles. Did Derek tell you what tomorrow is?” Laura asked.

“Oh my god, Laura, no.” Derek groaned from the kitchen.

“What? What’s tomorrow?” Stiles asked excitedly, wobbling a little.

“It’s Derek’s-”

“Laura. Laura, _no_.” Derek appeared in the doorway, wielding the wooden spoon he’d been using to stir the pot on the stove and doing so threateningly.

“-moon day.” Laura smirked at him, unafraid.

“His moon day?” Stiles asked, confused.

“It’s like a birthday, but instead of celebrating your birth, it’s a celebration of your first change.” Laura cheerfully explained. Derek looked like he might kill her. “It’s hard to catch, because if the full moon doesn’t land on the same date as your first change, then it doesn’t count. So, like, your first change could have been on the ninth of April, but the full moon might not land on the ninth of April for years.” Laura explained. “Shit- what did the mat say?”

“I have no idea. That sounds really complicated.” Stiles hissed, muscles protesting. “And a really big deal.”

“Well, it would be a big deal, except grumpy guts over here hates making a big deal of _himself_ more than anything else.”

Stiles toppled over, sending both he and Laura to the ground.

“So you get gifts and stuff, right?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah.” Laura grinned. “Lots!”

Derek huffed a sigh, shaking his head, and disappeared back into the kitchen. “You don’t have to show up if you don’t want to.” He said, obviously directed at Stiles.

Later, after Derek had gone to bed, Stiles held Laura back.

“What should I get him? I mean, am I even welcome?” Stiles asked, feeling awkward and anxious.

“I think he’d be upset if you didn’t show up.” Laura grinned. “And, that’s really up to you. What do you think he’d like?”

Stiles glared, because that was such a big help, but Laura only laughed and disappeared upstairs.

Stiles was longer going up. What would Derek like? Stiles didn’t have any money and he didn’t really want to go out in public again. He hadn’t brought anything with him in his shuttle, considering the supernova was supposed to be a day trip. Arts-n-crafts seemed too childish. He had to get Derek _something_.

And then it hit him. Butterflies. Derek had a thing for butterflies. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, but one of those knick knacks on his shelf was a butterfly collection. Stiles had seen it a few times and there was always an empty space. Derek was missing one. It was a hobby Stiles had never dared to question for fear of his life, but now- that could be his in. So to speak.

Three hours, several cups of coffee, and eight old books later, Stiles had found the one. It was called the Glowbird, simply because it glowed and was really pretty. Apparently.

And now Stiles was on a mission. This was it, the present for Derek. A manly-ass glowing bug. Stiles was starting to wonder if there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the people who were obviously out of his league, and would never like him back, but uh. C’est la vie. Or something.

Which found Stiles with a net and a jar in the middle of the woods in the early morning with almost no idea what he was doing. Right. Couldn’t be that hard. Totally.

It was still early enough that it was dark out. the moon, nearly full, gave just enough light to see by so Stiles at least could see the path before him and didn’t bump into a tree. Although, Stiles wasn’t ruling that out just yet- he’d already almost tripped over his own feet anyway.

This butterfly was ridiculously rare, but dammit, Stiles had to try. It was becoming more a personal challenge the longer he stayed out here.

He felt clumsy, crashing about the forest where he knew that by comparison, Derek was completely silent. It wasn’t fair. Stiles tried not to dwell on it, but there wasn’t much else to think about when he was out here by himself and so far having no luck.

It was going to be a long day.

-=-

When Derek woke up, he knew instantaneously that something was wrong. Missing. He could hear Laura’s heartbeat, slow and calm in sleep. But he couldn’t hear Stiles’. He tried not to worry. Stiles was probably just outside of hearing range, that was all. He went about his morning routine, working out, taking a shower, and when he dressed, he did so slightly more nicely than usual.

By that time, Laura was up and making breakfast. Derek poured himself a cup of coffee, feeling overly tense.

“He went out.” Laura said without looking around. “If you wanted to know.”

Derek glared. “I didn’t.” But his shoulders lied, relaxing.

Laura just shrugged like it didn’t matter to her.

“You know, if you like him, you should just kiss him. Or something.”

And then he was tense again. “So when’s everyone coming over?”

“I’m serious, Derek. He might not be here much longer- this could be your only chance. So if you don’t take it, I’ll refuse that I’m related to you for the rest of my life or so help me-”

“I get it, Laura.” Derek grit out. “You don’t have to keep talking.” He tried not to pay attention to how smug the silence sounded.

-=-

It wasn’t until morning light started to filter between the trees that Stiles caught a glimpse of a green fluttering glow through the brush. It would be hella harder to find the bug in the daylight, but like he said- challenge. Stiles grinned and ran after it.

-=-

The sun hung in the center of the sky and it was too hot and Derek was sick of meeting family members at the door. He couldn’t help but wander out to where people had spilled into the backyard, his eyes scanning the tree line for Stiles.

“He’s fine.” Laura reassured him whenever she passed. “He’ll be here.”

By dinnertime, when BBQ was had and Derek was flushing over surprisingly thoughtful gifts, he was starting to think that that wasn’t the case.

-=-

Stiles was exhausted. He had mud in places he’d never had mud before. There were twigs in his hair and clothes. This was a lot harder than he’d ever even expected. But at last, hours later (hungry, dirty, cold, tired, achy), Stiles was victorious. In his jar, there was a beautiful, fluttering butterfly.

Stiles held the jar up to eye level, staring at it.

“You better get me a kiss, at least.” He grumbled.

The butterfly landed passively on the bottom of the jar and did not answer him. Stiles looked up, around, trying to get his bearings. The path had to be around here somewhere.

-=-

The moon began to rise, the sky blackening, and with it, Derek’s mood. He had no right to be mad, considering he’d told Stiles that he didn’t care whether Stiles was there or not and therefore he should do what he wants, but now that Stiles wasn’t there, Derek was _pissed_. Stiles had become a bit more than a friend and Derek had his suspicions, but he didn’t want to make assumptions about how Stiles felt and it was all just one big mess.

He knew that he had little right to be mad, telling Stiles he could sit out if he wanted to, but now he wished he could take that back. They were going for the pack run in a while, and Derek knew his heart wouldn’t be in it. Not when he was in a mood like this.

“Mom said we’ll wait a few more minutes.” Laura told him in a hushed tone.

Derek grunted a thanks, uncaring about how sincere it actually sounded. He moved to the back porch, arms crossed, glaring at the tree line.

It didn’t make Stiles appear any faster.

-=-

Stiles was starting to be really grateful that this butterfly (moth? Since it was out at night?) glowed incessantly rather than blinking like a firefly.

“I almost don’t have the heart to give you over, since that’s basically, you know, a death sentence.” Stiles confessed.

The little creature had acted as his flashlight, making the way out significantly less painful than the way in. Stiles hadn’t bumped into anything for so long that he was finally starting to feel his aches and pains. He hoped he wasn’t too late. This party went on all night, right?

Finally, he could see the lights of the house through the trees. Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t lost. Thank God. He could see a dark shape on the porch, and he wasn’t sure who it was until he got up close.

“Derek! Hey! I, uh, got you something. I mean, sort of. At this point I’m wondering whether or not you actually want a butterfly, I mean- well, here.” He thrusted the jar at Derek. “Sorry for being out all day. I left a note on the coffee pot. I’m not too late, am I? Holy crap, I could use some food. And a shower. I bet I smell rank, huh?”

Derek was quiet for so long that Stiles flushed and was starting to feel embarrassed for going to such lengths when he finally moved. He had taken the jar from Stiles, setting it aside carefully. And then he was hugging Stiles. Stiles didn’t know whether to punch the air in victory or ask Derek if he was feeling okay.

“I was trying to be mad at you.” Derek said, his hot breath pushing against Stiles’ neck and wow okay that’s one way to make a guy’s knees go weak. “But I don’t think I can be if you were out there all day.”

Stiles laughed, a breathless chuckle. “Awesome.”

“You need food, and something to drink.” Derek sighed. “And definitely a shower.” Stiles might be mistaken, but he didn’t think so, when he thought Derek buried his face in Stiles’ neck and inhaled.

But he definitely wasn’t imagining the very possessive hand on the small of his back as Derek led him inside. There were people who greeted them on the way inside, people who were vaguely familiar from the day Stiles had crashed. Derek didn’t pay attention to any of them, leading Stiles up the stairs and into Derek’s spacious bedroom. Stiles opened his mouth to ask what exactly was going on here, not daring to hope for what he was thinking might be going on here, when Derek pushed him up against the closed door and kissed the daylights out of him.

Everywhere skin met skin was fire, every one of Stiles’ nerves singing when they so much as brushed up against one another. Derek’s lips were insistent and delicious and Stiles couldn’t get enough. All other needs were pushed to the back of his mind. Derek’s hands were clutching at his clothes, tugging, trying to get it off, and Stiles’ hands were doing the same to Derek’s.

Stiles couldn’t be sure about how it happened, but somehow they stumbled to the bed, sandwiched together, a trail of clothes in their wake. They didn’t speak. If they made sound at all, Stiles wouldn’t remember it later. He would remember the way Derek smelled, the way his skin tasted. He would remember getting beard burn from Derek’s stubble, hickeys from Derek’s mouth. Any such marks he tried to leave on Derek disappeared within moments, which only made Stiles more determined. He would remember the way Derek looked as Stiles ground their hips together.

They fucked. It wasn’t making love or having sex, it was fucking. Like energy had been pent up and bottled up and pushed away for another time and now it was all exploding out. Stiles had his ass in the air and Derek’s fingers in him before he knew what to do with himself, holding a pillow to his chest as he moaned into it to try and muffle himself from the super sensitive ears downstairs.

Derek had no such qualms, groaning as he felt Stiles squeeze around his slicked-up fingers, growling when Stiles keened for it and pushed back against him. It seemed blessedly quick that Derek had his dick slicked up and was sliding into him, setting a rough, just-this-side-of-painful pace.

Stiles didn’t complain. He spread his knees wider and took it, gasping Derek’s name, moaning when the other hit something inside of him that made Stiles’ vision white out. Derek was biting down on his shoulders, not enough to draw blood but enough to leave marks. He would bite and then give the most tender of kisses, and it was enough to shake Stiles apart from the inside out.

Derek’s fist around his cock and a few sharp tugs were all it took to have Stiles coming messily over Derek’s fingers, Derek’s name falling from his lips. Above and behind him, Derek swore and followed, hips stuttering before stilling.

Derek fell to the side, arms wrapped around Stiles, both of them dazed and boneless as they spooned. The smell of sex was heavy in the air, the temperature of the room now much colder than it had been before. Stiles closed his eyes and pressed back into Derek. He was going to feel it tomorrow, all of it. The hunger and the thirst and the aches that came with awesome sex. But he’d leave that for tomorrow. All he could concentrate on now was Derek’s arm possessively around his abdomen, fingers absently stroking up and down his stomach.

“So that happened.” Stiles breathed.

“Mm.”

“We should do that again. Later. Tomorrow. And the day after.”

“Mn.”

“This wasn’t a one time thing, right? It’s not common for people’s bodies to be given as gifts, right?”

“Stiles.” Derek nuzzled the hair at the back of his neck, comforting. “Relax. It’s not a one time thing. I only want you. If you’ll have me.”

Stiles gave a muted nod, somewhere between blissed out and awed. It wasn’t long before he gave in to his body and fell asleep.

-=-

“... I don’t want to.” Stiles swallowed, looking between Talia and Derek. “I know I have to, and a part of me does want to, but… The bigger part doesn’t.”

“You have to, Stiles.” Derek said softly. There was no hint of anything in his voice to suggest that he hadn’t seen this coming. “You have to go back. Your ship is all fixed- it’s time.”

“But. What about- you? Us?” He hissed, ducking his head.

“You remember what I told you? That first time?” Derek asked, his voice low.

“Yeah. Yeah, I remember.” It was only two weeks ago, how could Stiles forget?

“Alright then.” Derek said, like that settled it.

“I’ll go tell them you’re ready.” Talia said softly before walking off.

“Here.” Derek pulled something out of his pocket. It was a large green amulet, hanging on a silver cord. “It’s a beacon. If you’re ever in trouble- real, real trouble- press down on it. I’ll come. Wherever you are, I’ll be there.” Derek pressed it into Stiles’ hands.

Stiles looked down at it. He knew he’d be tempted to press it, even if Derek wasn’t there. “I shouldn’t take it.” But he didn’t try to give it back to Derek.

“It would make me feel better if you did.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“You too.”

“Like a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s time, Stiles!” Talia called out, gesturing him over to the hallway that would lead him to his ship.

Stiles looked up at Derek, distressed. Derek curled his arms around Stiles’ waist and kissed him, soft but passionate and everything Stiles needed. It wasn’t goodbye. It was a promise. Stiles forced himself to pull away and walk towards Talia, tears in his eyes. He didn’t look back.

-=-

The start-up sequence was unfamiliar. It wasn’t Scott’s voice in his ear and that made it weird. He knew somewhere in the space station, Derek was watching him on a big screen, and that comforted him. A little. He did everything on autopilot, muscle memory working for him. They were going to guide Stiles back to the black hole he’d come out of, pull some mojo, and he’d be back where he’d begun.

“It was interesting to have you here, Mister Stilinski. I hope you’ll remember the agreement you made.” Talia was saying to him.

“No telling anyone you guys exist. Got it.” Stiles grinned, winking at a camera he couldn’t see. Talia laughed.

“Wrap it up here, launch in five seconds.” Someone else, not Talia.

“Hey, tell Derek I lo-” Stiles had waited too long. Communications cut off as blast off began, and even when they came back on, there was nothing but silence. Stiles was on his own.

Going back through the black hole, they spoke to him again, guiding him through the steps of releasing certain chemicals and giving it just the right charge. Going back through wasn’t any more pleasant than the first time, and Stiles felt a little sick after. But he hadn’t passed out, and he looked to be in the more familiar galaxy. He had nothing but static on the other end of his communications, no way to tell the people who had waved him off that he was okay.

No way to tell Derek.

With a heavy heart, Stiles began to guide himself back home. Thanks to the wolves, he had plenty of fuel.

He wondered what Scott would think, if Stiles actually planned on telling anyone the whole story.

-=-

There was fanfare. There was paparazzi. There was even a hopeful producer who wanted to make a movie. Stiles smiled and he turned them all away. He spent time with Scott and his father. He answered _I don’t know._ whenever he was asked about where he’d been or what he remembered. Just smiled and shrugged and shook his head and said _I’m just happy to be alive._

He was on leave, NASA having decided he needed time to recuperate. They were sort of right. Stiles didn’t think he wanted anything to do with the stars again, not unless it meant he could find Derek. He would have thought it was all just one big dream if he didn’t have the amulet Derek had given him still, smuggled out in his clothing.

Sometimes he looked at it, contemplated pressing the button, but in the end he always put it back in his shirt, hidden away from the world. It was a comforting weight around his neck, an assurance that Derek was always near, even if he really wasn’t.

Three months passed, but it seemed like a blur. Stiles thought idly to himself that Derek would have returned to military service by now. He wondered about the kinds of places they sent him to. If it was anything like the shitstorm in the Middle East here on Earth that seemed to have been going on forever.

Stiles missed Derek like he’d had his right arm taken away from him. Not chopped off, but just gone. So that when he turned to find Derek, and Derek wasn’t there, the pang of loss was a new surprise every time, a new ache to deal with.

Everything seemed to be going back to normal, for the most part. As close to normal as Stiles could get, knowing what he now knew.

And then they came.

They came in huge ships from the sky with laser guns. Actual laser guns. There wasn’t anything anyone could do. Governments sent out their best fighter planes, of course, went through their defense plans like dirty underwear, each one proving less effective than the last. There were lizard people landing on Earth and killing innocent civilians. It didn’t seem to matter who got in their way. Young, old, man, woman, threat or not, the lizard people killed without remorse. It was like a horrible version of Godzilla and Dawn of the Dead.

Stiles, holed up in a bunker at NASA with his dad and Scott and Alison and Mrs. McCall, figured that if ever there was a time to call for Derek, it was now. He pulled the amulet out of his shirt, another explosion sounding above them, rocking the underground bunker like it had  been for days.

“What is that?” Scott asked, confused.

“It’s gonna help.” Or, Stiles had to believe it was going to help. He pressed down.

For a moment nothing happened, and Stiles feared the beacon had broken somehow, but then it began to blink a green light silently. Stiles swallowed. He didn’t feel comforted like he thought he would.

Another explosion rocked the bunker, and Stiles closed his eyes, huddling closer to Scott and Alison, and tried to sleep.

-=-

It was another day before anything happened. People were starting to murmur that maybe the bunker wouldn’t hold. That it would collapse and they would all be trapped down here. Sheriff Stilinski did his best to keep everyone calm, but one man in a uniform could only get so far.

Towards noon of that day, the ceiling of the bunker cracked.

People started to scream and panic and push and shove to get out. There was no way to control it, no hope of that. Stiles got separated from Scott and Alison first, torn away by the crowd. Then he lost sight of his father, and he couldn’t do anything but let himself be swept along, up and out to the sunlight.

He was met with chaos.

Where civilization had once stood was now a decimated battlefield. Bodies littered the ground. Human, lizard, and people who Stiles didn’t recognize. These bodies wore white plate armor that covered all but their heads and looked like something out of Halo. Looking around more, Stiles realized these people were werewolves.

The werewolves had come.

Some of the people Stiles had previously thought dead were getting up in varying degrees of annoyance, holding wounds and grabbing at guns, barking orders or taking them, and they were fighting back.

A bullet bit into the ground near him and Stiles jumped, realizing that he should probably be trying to find his friends and his dad and finding a better place to lay low. It was impossible to search through this. He ran instead.

Stiles found cover behind a crumbling structure that he was pretty sure used to be the stone guard house they’d just recently built at the entrance to the NASA complex. Winded from the running, adrenaline pumping, Stiles barely realized who he’d found cover next to. And when he did, he was overjoyed.

“Derek?!” He shouted over the sounds of battle.

Derek’s head swiveled to see him, eyes bright and wolf blue. He didn’t seem to see Stiles for a moment, looking through him instead of at him, and then his eyes focused and his eyebrows contorted in disbelief.

“Stiles?” Stiles watched him mouth it rather than heard him say it. He nodded enthusiastically all the same.

Derek ducked in to kiss him, a gloved hand at the back of Stiles’ head, fingers curling in the hair at the nape of his neck. The kiss seemed to go on forever and it was the best thing Stiles had ever felt. He moaned into Derek’s mouth, which only made Derek hold him tighter.

Another large explosion and Derek was wrenching himself away to fire his weapon back at the lizard people, a snarl on his features. Stiles took a second to look at him.

Derek was cleanshaven, for one thing. Probably military regulation. He looked good in the white armor, scuffed and dirtied though it was. His gun was huge and powerful and Stiles had never been more in love with an inanimate object; the way Derek held it was obscene and Stiles really didn’t think he could be blamed for noticing that right then, inappropriate a time though it may have been.

“I’ll be right back.” Derek muttered.

Without any other warning, Derek leapt over their cover, transforming as he went. The armor just seemed to fall off of him effortlessly, and Stiles had the suspicion that that was what it was meant to do.

Derek became all wolf, all power. He ducked and weaved and bobbed and it was mesmerizing. When he leapt for a lizard person, it was for the throat, and while he might have been grazed by a shot, he never seemed to slow down or be truly injured.

Stiles sort of felt like this was a dream. Nightmare turned utopia. He was expecting to wake up any second.

He had half a mind to grab Derek’s gun and try to help, but something told him that he’d be better off not touching it.

Derek did indeed return, putting his armor back on piece by piece, efficient and quick, before returning to shooting. Stiles watched their back, kept a lookout for anyone sneaking up on them. They didn’t talk much.

In no time, it seemed, the battle was over. The lizard-people lay dead, as they had all refused to surrender. Stiles grabbed Derek by the cheeks and kissed him senseless, until they had both forgotten where they were and what they were doing.

“Well, you seem to be just fine.”

Stiles’ head snapped up to see Scott, Allison and Mrs. McCall in tow, looking dirty and scraped and a little bruised but fine, and amused.

“Where’s my dad?” Stiles asked, not moving away from Derek in the slightest, even though Derek looked slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

“He’s safe. They’re applying first aid to everyone now. He got hit in the arm with something, but they say he’ll be okay.” Allison piped up.

Stiles breathed a sigh of relief, felt Derek run a hand up and down his spine tiredly.

“Seriously though, Stiles, what the hell are you thinking? In the middle of a battlefield? Do you even know him?!” Mrs. McCall asked with incredulity.

“I didn’t tell the truth when I said I didn’t know what happened when I went into that black hole.” Stiles huffed as he stood up, Derek following close behind. The group began to walk towards first aid, Derek checking on his platoon members as they went but never far behind. “I was transported to this other planet. It was a lot like Earth, just, everyone was a super-awesome werewolf.”

“I’d call you a liar but I don’t think I can at this point.” Scott muttered.

“And that was Derek.” Stiles continued like he hadn’t heard. “My boyfriend.”

He looked over his shoulder to see Derek in full armor, gun almost limp in one hand, a dumbstruck look on his face. Like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard Stiles say. Stiles made himself turn around and go back, face to face with Derek.

“That’s okay, right? That I call you that?”

“That’s fine. Great.” Derek managed.

“Will you stay?” Stiles just sort of blurted it out before he could stop himself.

The things happening here, happening on Earth, they weren’t going to stop getting bad. They both knew it. This was an invasion. They won the battle, but they hadn’t yet won the war. Stiles was really, really hoping to convince Derek to stay. He’d thought he’d never be seeing Derek again, after all; this was literally a dream coming true. Stiles had woken up feeling all warm and fuzzy like Derek had magically appeared until he realized that it was just a fabrication of his subconcious.

“I was thinking about it.” Derek answered, snapping him back to the present. He was looking at Stiles fondly. “I think we could work something out.”

Stiles’ knees felt weak. “Oh my god yes.”

Derek chuckled low in his chest. “You waited too long, you know. I never got to say it back.”

“Huh?”

Derek drew close, his lips brushing against Stiles’ when he spoke.

“It’s just you, Stiles. I love you, too.”

-Finis-

**Author's Note:**

> Another fantastic idea by the great CaptainStilinski! Everybody shower love on her because without her this shit don't happen. She pushes me to be the best I can and I will love her forever for it, and try to be half as good a friend to her as she is to me.
> 
> This is the reason I haven't been working on the sequel to You've Got Everything A Big Bad Wolf Could Want. Basically. I started writing that, decided it wasn't going where I wanted it to, so I'm scrapping what I wrote for that as maybe the beginnings for a whole different fic and starting anew. I'M SORRY. .A.
> 
> ANYWAY  
> I was just as excited to write this one as I was to write YGEABBWCW and I really hope you all think it came out just as well as I think it did. I purposely left the end open- does shit go down and the world ends or do Stiles and Derek team up and the power of gay love pierces the veil of death and saves the day? You decide.
> 
> I'm too tired to be writing notes right now I've already gone on too long. THANK YOU ALL, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU PUTTING UP WITH THE NOTES IF YOU'VE READ THIS LONG, YOU GET A COOKIE. ;u;


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